NYC to roll out anti-street harassment ad campaign starting Wednesday. Here's what to expect.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's office is set to roll out a new ad campaign this week targeting domestic and gender-based violence. 

Starting Wednesday, videos and posters will be plastered in subways and public spaces, spreading awareness about the negative components of what can be a disturbing encounter.

Ads designed to grab your attention, official says

One ad satirically says, "Hey sexy." Another says "Hey baby," with a sentence that reads "Unwanted attention isn't harmless -- it's harassment."

"It's poppy, it's bright, it's made to engage your attention, and we don't want folks to look away," said Saloni Sethi, commissioner of the Mayor's Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence. "[Harassment] is a problem and it's something that far too many New Yorkers experience."

The digital ads are expected to run more than 27 million times in the coming months.

"It's repulsive. It's incredibly insulting. It's degrading" 

Street harassment, or cat calling, is something all to common to New York City residents.

According to Sethi, a 2024 survey showed that 7 out of 10 New Yorkers have experienced some form of street harassment.

"Only 7 out of 10? Wow, who are those three?" resident Elizabeth Koehn said.

And while verbal harassment was the most common form, more than 50% reported physical harassment specifically. 

"It's repulsive. It's incredibly insulting. It's degrading," Koehn said of the harassment.

"They think I am going to stop and say, 'Oh, let's have coffee?'" Madelyn Rubenstein said.

Angie Martinez knows the dangers of street harassment all to well. The domestic violence survivor has experienced multiple instances and stands fully behind a campaign taking aim at the act.

"Let's figure out how we can do better as a community," Martinez said. "I think this is amazing, because it actually gives people safe space where they feel comfortable."